Surviving Skid Row
by x Frostbite x
Summary: Audrey's sudden arrival at the flower shop instills a new hope in Seymour's heart. As she teaches him what friendship and love are, Seymour begins to believe that his life may have a purpose, after all. But this new feeling of togetherness is shattered as the couple is slowly pulled apart by jealous boyfriends, enemies of the past, and a hungry plant plotting to kill them all.
1. Chapter 1

Seymour Krelborn was never one to be rude. Although he grew up on Skid Row, he was always courteous to the people around him, and constantly reminded himself to be polite with even the most uncivil of beings. He mentally scolded himself anytime he so much as _thought_ something that was remotely offensive. Not once in his life had he ever snapped, sneered, or stared at another person.

But he was staring now.

Seymour had become quite claustrophobic, what with standing in Mr. Mushnik's shop all day, so he decided to step outside to get some fresh air. Upon exiting the store, however, the young man remembered that there was no such thing as fresh air on Skid Row. Seymour took a long look at the garbage-lined streets that surrounded the florist's shop and promptly felt the urge to vomit.

But the feeling passed when he suddenly heard a soft, beautiful sound amongst the usual noise of distant traffic and coughing street urchins. The sound was totally foreign to Seymour – it was light and silky and filled him with sweet happiness. He turned to see what sort of heavenly creature could have produced such a sound.

To his complete surprise, Seymour's eyes did, indeed, land on an angel. She was walking along the sidewalk, humming a tune as her black high heels clicked away at the concrete.

Seymour couldn't help but stare at her, even if it _was_ incredibly rude. Although she was looking down at her feet, Seymour could tell that she was a beautiful woman. Her hair was the color of the morning sun, and stopped where her long, slender neck met her chin. She wore a black dress with long sleeves, and her right hand grasped a small suitcase.

As the girl came closer to the flower shop, Seymour felt his heart beating faster and faster. He started to sweat. Just as she approached him, the angel lifted her head to look at him. Their eyes met, and she gave him a bright smile and wiggled her fingers at him in a friendly greeting. Seymour managed an awkward smile and a shy wave. The woman walked on by and made her way to the crumbling apartment building across from the store. The back of her head looked familiar; perhaps she had passed Mushnik's window before.

He watched her until she entered the building and the door swung shut behind her. He was frozen. He stood there for a long time, staring at her door and hoping she would come back out. Even after enough time had passed that he was sure she wasn't going to return, he could not move.

"Krelborn!" Mr. Mushnik's voice boomed from the shop, yanking Seymour out of his trance and back to reality.

"Y-yes, Mr. Mushnik?" Seymour stuttered.

"Get back in here, kid! There's work to be done!"

"You and I both know that's a lie, sir," Seymour muttered under his breath before walking back inside. His employer kept him busy with making lovely arrangements that, unfortunately, would more than likely sit on the store shelf until they wilted. But Seymour wasn't bothered by the work today. His mind was on that gorgeous girl who had waved at him.

Being a daily worker in a flower shop, Seymour had met many women. He'd met so many, in fact, that he couldn't remember them all. He'd sold posies to sweet young ladies who were very kind to him at the counter. He'd helped pick out the perfect blooms for cranky women who were in a big hurry.

Girls who wore too much rouge.

Girls who donned funny hats.

Girls who were too busy to even speak to him.

But none of those girls had smiled at him like the angel had. The few smiles that he had received throughout his many years at Mushnik's were fake, and were conjured up out of good mannerisms. Hers was genuine. She saw him, and his glasses, and his messy hair... and she smiled at him.

Seymour was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when he stopped working, put his chin in his hand, and began smelling a rose dreamily.

"Krelborn!"

"Oh! Um, yes sir?"

"Don't just stand there! Get back to work!"

"Yes, Mr. Mushnik." Seymour returned to his arrangement, but smiled to himself for the rest of the day. At night, as he lay in his bed under the shop, he dreamed that someday he would meet his angel, and together, they would break out of Skid Row. Then, they would fly to a place far, far away, where everything was green.


	2. Chapter 2

After a week without any sign of the girl, Seymour figured that their encounter was a random one and, sadly, he would not be seeing her any time soon. He missed her. He was well aware that he was not in love with her, as he had only encountered her once. But it was refreshing to see a ray of sunshine on the streets – even if it was just one time.

So he had returned to his normal life, free of fantasy and smiles. He spent his days sweeping floors, carrying pots, and watering soil. On one particularly boring day, Seymour stood behind the counter, drumming his fingers on the surface in an attempt to stay awake. He jolted when the phone rang. Mr. Mushnik came out from the back room and picked it up.

"Mushnik's Skid Row Florist. This is Mushnik."

"Hello, Mista Mushnik. My name is Audrey Fulquard. I was callin' to ask if you were interested in hirin' any new employees."

"New employees? I dunno, miss. Things are pretty tight around here."

"Oh, but Mista Mushnik, sir, I think I have somethin' to offer to the business."

"Offer? I'm listening."

"Well, ya see sir, I'm a pretty artsy person, and I think I could really... ya know, spruce up the place! Add a little _pizzazz_! I'm sure some attitude will bring in a bunch of new customa's!"

Mr. Mushnik sighed. He glanced from the bland store window to his sleepy worker, then to the cash register that he knew was empty.

"I can't pay you much," he said.

"That's not a problem, sir."

"When can you be here?"

"Right away, Mista Mushnik! I live real close by; I can be there in a snap!"

"Alright. Come on over and see what you can do." There was a squeak on the other end.

"I'll be right there, sir! Thank you! Buh-bye!" Mr. Mushnik hung up the phone.

"Who was that, sir?" Seymour asked.

"Some girl. Wants to come spruce the place up. Attract business."

"Oh. Here, I'll tidy up a little," Seymour said. He picked up a few empty pots that were scattered about and carried them to the back room, where they wouldn't be seen. He grabbed a duster from the shelf and returned to the store. But before he could even touch the feathers to the dirt-covered register, the _ding_ of the bell signaled the arrival of a visitor.

Seymour opened his mouth to welcome the guest, but choked on his own breath when he looked up and saw the angel entering the shop. His body stiffened. His heartbeat went wild. She was so beautiful.

"Good mornin'," the woman said.

"Uh... G-good morning," Seymour answered nervously. "Can I help you?"

"Well, I'm lookin' for Mista Mushnik. Oh, is this him?" she asked as the shop owner stuck his head out of the back room.

"That's me," the man said, emerging to shake the girl's hand. "I didn't expect you so soon." She giggled.

"I live right across the street. Just moved in last week."

"Across the street?" Seymour breathed. She nodded.

"Could you remind me of your name, young lady?"

"It's Audrey, sir. Audrey Fulquard."

_Audrey Fulquard..._ Seymour thought. _Simply beautiful._

"Well then, Audrey," Mr. Mushnik stated. "See what you can do with this mess." He gestured to the window display. "Seymour, help her out with anything she needs." He then turned and re-entered the back room.

Audrey smiled at the small man, then began working. She started off by clearing everything from the window. She put all of the potted plants on the floor, organizing them by color. Seymour watched her intently, observing her every move. Her posture and motions radiated elegance. He wished he could speak to her, but he couldn't think of anything to say. So he just stood back and studied her.

Soon, the window display was more magnificent than it had ever been before. There were hanging baskets dangling from the ceiling, and artfully arranged potted plants on the sill. Audrey had placed matching plants across from one another for symmetry, then mixed them up in the middle. It was gorgeous.

Seymour was still watching her from the register, amazed at what she had done with the shabby window. He smiled to himself.

"Um... excuse me?" Audrey said with her mousy voice. "Seymour, is it?"

"Yes. What do you need?" he asked, shakily stepping out from behind the counter.

"Do you have ribbons?"

"Oh... Ribbons? Gee, I don't know. Let me check," said Seymour. He started to head to the back room, but kept his eyes on Audrey. She smiled at him, then slapped her hands over her mouth when he walked straight into the wall, knocking his glasses to the side of his face.

"Are you alright?" Audrey asked, startled.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered as he adjusted his spectacles. He grinned at her nervously, then walked into the wall a second time. He slipped into the back room as Audrey giggled to herself.

Seymour began searching the shelves for ribbon, and jumped at Mushnik's voice.

"What are you looking for?"

"Ribbon?"

"Don't waste your time. We haven't got any."

"Are you sure?" Seymour persisted, rummaging through the items on the shelf.

"Yes, I'm sure! The budget hasn't allowed for petty decorations for months!"

"Oh. Sorry to bother you, sir," he said as he left the room.

"Did you find any?" Audrey asked when he returned.

"No. Sorry," he said with a shrug.

"Darn. I really wanted to tie some bows around these pots." Seymour hated to see her disappointed. He thought fast.

"You could use wrapping paper."

"Huh?" Audrey looked at him, confused.

"We could cut some wrapping paper into strips and tie it around the pots. We have a lot of it." Audrey's face lit up.

"Oh, Seymour! You're a genius!" she yelped. She bounced over to him as he started rolling out some paper. He grabbed the scissors from a small table and cut off a big sheet. Then, he cut it into long, thin strips. When he was done, he handed the papers to Audrey. She picked out a few plants, then carefully tied the makeshift ribbon around the pots. When she was all finished, Seymour called for Mr. Mushnik. The moment the large man saw the new display, his jaw dropped.

"Audrey... This is great! I haven't seen a display like this in ages! If that doesn't attract buyers, I don't know what will!"

"Oh thank you, Mista Mushnik!"

"No, thank you," Mushnik said, his excitement already wearing off. "I'll be back there if you need me.," he said as he exited the room.

"He liked it!" Seymour exclaimed. "He doesn't like anything! But he liked this!" Audrey laughed.

"Let's go look at it from outside!" she suggested.

The two workers hurried out of the shop and turned the corner to face the window. Audrey hopped up and down as they admired her work.

"It looks great, Audrey!"

"Thanks! So does this mean I got the job?"

"I think so! I've never seen the place look like this, and I've been here for years!" Audrey continued to laugh her wonderful laugh. She surprised Seymour when she hugged him so hard he couldn't breathe. At first, he didn't know what to do. No one had ever hugged him before. It was a pleasant feeling. In fact, Seymour had never known such a happy moment. When she let him go, he felt a tinge of sadness. But this passed when she snatched his hand and pulled him back inside.

The pair stood in the store and talked for a long while. Seymour found that talking to an angel was not as difficult as he had expected. He was thoroughly enjoying himself for what seemed like the first time in his life. He hardly even noticed when the bell rang.

"Excuse me," said a man's voice. Audrey and Seymour looked up at him. "I saw your new window display from the sidewalk and I just had to come in. Who did it?"

"Audrey did it," said Seymour. Audrey waved.

"Well, you've got talent, young lady."

"Thank you very much!"

"Now, I would like to make a purchase..."

"Purchase?" Mr. Mushnik poked his head out of the back room.

"Yes, sir," the man stated. Mushnik grinned.

"What would you like? Roses? Carnations? Lilies?"

"Chrysanthemums, if you've got them."

"We do, actually," Seymour said. "We've got pink and orange."

"Hmm..." The man stroked his chin. "I think I'll take the orange." Seymour picked out a nice pot of mums from the shelf by the counter The customer paid for the flowers while praising Audrey once more for her work.

"It really is great advertisement. Thanks for the mums." With that, the man bit a mum right off of its stem, chewed it up, and swallowed it. Seymour and Audrey glanced at each other with wide eyes.

"Wow! These are some of the best I've tasted!" He bit off two more blooms and crunched them with pleasure. "Keep up the good work!" He turned and trotted happily out of the store. The three florists looked at each other, flabbergasted. Seymour shrugged.

"At least it's a sale."

"You've got that right," Mushnik agreed. "Audrey... The job is all yours. We open at nine, close at six. Sundays off. Be on time." He went back to the storage room.

Audrey shot Seymour a huge smile.

"I guess we're coworkers now," she said, holding out her hand. Seymour shook it.

"Looks like it." Seymour choked back a scream of joy.

Life at Mushnik's Skid Row Florist just got a whole lot sweeter.


End file.
